Advancing International and Foreign Language Education Act

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2940 To reauthorize title VI of the Higher Education Act of 1965. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APRIL 30, 2021 Mr. PRICE of North Carolina (for himself, Mr. YOUNG, and Mr. LEVIN of Michigan) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com- mittee on Education and Labor A BILL To reauthorize title VI of the Higher Education Act of 1965. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Advancing Inter- 4 national and Foreign Language Education Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS. 6 (a) GRADUATE AND UNDERGRADUATE LANGUAGE 7 AND AREA CENTERS AND PROGRAMS.—Section 8 602(b)(2)(B)(ii) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 9 U.S.C. 1122(b)(2)(B)(ii)) is amended— 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:39 Jun 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2940.IH H2940 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 2940 IH (1) in subclause (III), by striking ‘‘or’’; 1 (2) in subclause (IV), by striking the period at 2 the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 3 (3) by adding at the end the following: 4 ‘‘(V) the beginning, intermediate, or 5 advanced study of a foreign language re- 6 lated to the area of specialization.’’. 7 (b) INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH AND INNOVATION.— 8 Section 605 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 9 U.S.C. 1125) is amended to read as follows: 10 ‘‘SEC. 605. INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH AND INNOVATION. 11 ‘‘(a) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this section to 12 support essential international and foreign language edu- 13 cation research and innovation projects with the goal of 14 assessing and strengthening international education ca- 15 pacity, coordination, delivery, and outcomes to meet na- 16 tional needs. 17 ‘‘(b) AUTHORITY.— 18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—From the amount provided 19 to carry out this section, the Secretary shall carry 20 out the following activities: 21 ‘‘(A) Conduct research and studies that 22 contribute to the purpose described in sub- 23 section (a) and include research to provide a 24 systematic understanding of our nation’s inter- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:39 Jun 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2940.IH H2940 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 2940 IH national and foreign language education capac- 1 ity, structures, and effectiveness in meeting 2 growing demands by education, government, 3 and the private sector (including business and 4 other professions). 5 ‘‘(B) Create innovative paradigms or en- 6 hance or scale up proven strategies and prac- 7 tices that address systemic challenges to devel- 8 oping and delivering international and foreign 9 language education resources and expertise 10 across educational disciplines and institutions, 11 and for employers and other stakeholders. 12 ‘‘(C) Develop and manage a national 13 standardized database that includes the 14 strengths, gaps, and trends in the nation’s 15 international and foreign language education 16 capacity, and document the outcomes of pro- 17 grams funded under this title for every grant 18 cycle. 19 ‘‘(2) GRANTS OR CONTRACTS.—The Secretary 20 shall carry out activities to achieve the outcomes de- 21 scribed in paragraph (1)— 22 ‘‘(A) directly; or 23 ‘‘(B) through grants awarded under sub- 24 section (d) or (e). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:39 Jun 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2940.IH H2940 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 2940 IH ‘‘(c) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES DEFINED.—In this section, 1 the term ‘eligible entity’ means— 2 ‘‘(1) an institution of higher education; 3 ‘‘(2) a public or private nonprofit library; 4 ‘‘(3) a nonprofit educational organization; 5 ‘‘(4) an entity that— 6 ‘‘(A) received a grant under this title for 7 a preceding fiscal year; or 8 ‘‘(B) as of the date of application for a 9 grant under this section is receiving a grant 10 under this title; or 11 ‘‘(5) a partnership of two or more entities de- 12 scribed in paragraphs (1) through (4). 13 ‘‘(d) RESEARCH GRANTS.— 14 ‘‘(1) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—For any fiscal 15 year for which the Secretary carries out activities to 16 achieve the outcomes described in subsection (b)(1) 17 through research grants under this subsection, the 18 Secretary shall award such grants, on a competitive 19 basis, to eligible entities. 20 ‘‘(2) REQUIRED ACTIVITIES.—An eligible entity 21 that receives a grant under this subsection shall use 22 the grant funds for the systematic development, col- 23 lection, analysis, publication, and dissemination of 24 data, and other information resources in a manner 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:39 Jun 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2940.IH H2940 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 2940 IH that is easily understandable, made publicly avail- 1 able, and that contributes to achieving the purposes 2 of subsection (a) and achieves at least 1 of the out- 3 comes described in subsection (b)(1). 4 ‘‘(3) DISCRETIONARY ACTIVITIES.—An eligible 5 entity that receives a grant under this subsection 6 may use the grant to carry out the following activi- 7 ties: 8 ‘‘(A) Assess and document international 9 and foreign language education capacity and 10 supply through studies or surveys that— 11 ‘‘(i) determine the number of foreign 12 language courses, programs, and enroll- 13 ments at all levels of education and in all 14 languages, including a determination of 15 gaps in those deemed critical to the na- 16 tional interest; 17 ‘‘(ii) measure the number and types of 18 degrees or certificates awarded in area 19 studies, global studies, foreign language 20 studies, and international business and 21 professional studies, including identifica- 22 tion of gaps in those deemed critical to the 23 national interest; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:39 Jun 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2940.IH H2940 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 2940 IH ‘‘(iii) measure the number of foreign 1 language, area or international studies fac- 2 ulty, including international business fac- 3 ulty, and elementary school and secondary 4 school foreign language teachers by lan- 5 guage, degree, and world area; or 6 ‘‘(iv) measure the number of under- 7 graduate and graduate students engaging 8 in long- or short-term education or intern- 9 ship abroad programs as part of their cur- 10 riculum, including countries of destination. 11 ‘‘(B) Assess the demands for, and out- 12 comes of, international and foreign language 13 education and their alignment, through studies, 14 surveys, and conferences to— 15 ‘‘(i) determine demands for increased 16 or improved instruction in foreign lan- 17 guage, area or global studies, or other 18 international fields, and the demand for 19 employees with such skills and knowledge 20 in the education, government, and private 21 sectors (including business and other pro- 22 fessions); 23 ‘‘(ii) assess the employment or utiliza- 24 tion of graduates of programs supported 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:39 Jun 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2940.IH H2940 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 2940 IH under this title by educational, govern- 1 mental, and private sector organizations 2 (including business and other professions); 3 or 4 ‘‘(iii) assess standardized outcomes 5 and effectiveness and benchmarking of 6 programs supported under this title. 7 ‘‘(C) Develop and publish specialized mate- 8 rials for use in foreign language, area, global, 9 or other international studies, including in 10 international business or other professional edu- 11 cation or technical training, as appropriate. 12 ‘‘(D) Conduct studies or surveys that iden- 13 tify and document systemic challenges and 14 changes needed in higher education and elemen- 15 tary school and secondary school systems to 16 make international and foreign language edu- 17 cation available to all students as part of the 18 basic curriculum, including challenges in cur- 19 rent evaluation standards, entrance and gradua- 20 tion requirements, program accreditation, stu- 21 dent degree requirements, or teacher and fac- 22 ulty legal workplace barriers to education and 23 research abroad. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:39 Jun 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2940.IH H2940 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 2940 IH ‘‘(E) With respect to underrepresented in- 1 stitutions of higher education (including minor- 2 ity-serving institutions or community colleges), 3 carry out studies or surveys that identify and 4 document— 5 ‘‘(i) systemic challenges and changes 6 and incentives and partnerships needed to 7 comprehensively and sustainably inter- 8 nationalize educational programming; or 9 ‘‘(ii) short- and long-term outcomes of 10 successful internationalization strategies 11 and funding models. 12 ‘‘(F) Evaluate the extent to which pro- 13 grams assisted under this title reflect diverse 14 perspectives and a wide range of views and gen- 15 erate debate on world regions and international 16 affairs. 17 ‘‘(e) INNOVATION GRANTS.— 18 ‘‘(1) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—For any fiscal 19 year for which the Secretary carries out activities to 20 achieve the outcomes described in subsection (b)(1) 21 through innovation grants under this subsection, the 22 Secretary shall award such grants, on a competitive 23 basis, to eligible entities. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:39 Jun 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2940.IH H2940 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 2940 IH ‘‘(2) USES OF FUNDS.—An eligible entity that 1 receives an innovation grant under this subsection 2 shall use the grant funds to fund projects consistent 3 with the purposes described in subsection (a) that 4 establish and conduct innovative strategies, or scale 5 up proven strategies, and that achieve at least 1 of 6 the outcomes described in subsection (b)(1), which 7 may include one or more of the following: 8 ‘‘(A) Innovative paradigms to improve 9 communication, sharing, and delivery of re- 10 sources that further the purposes described in 11 subsection (a) including the following: 12 ‘‘(i) Networking structures and sys- 13 tems to more effectively match graduates 14 with international and foreign language 15 education skills with employment needs. 16 ‘‘(ii) Sharing international specialist 17 expertise across institutions of higher edu- 18 cation or in the workforce to pursue spe- 19 cialization or learning opportunities not 20 available at any single institution of higher 21 education, such as shared courses for 22 studying less commonly taught languages, 23 world areas or regions, international busi- 24 ness or other professional areas, or special- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:39 Jun 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2940.IH H2940 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 2940 IH ized research topics of national strategic 1 interest. 2 ‘‘(iii) Producing, collecting, orga- 3 nizing, preserving, and widely dissemi- 4 nating international and foreign language 5 education expertise, resources, courses, and 6 other information through the use of elec- 7 tronic technologies and other techniques. 8 ‘‘(iv) Collaborative initiatives to iden- 9 tify, capture, and provide consistent access 10 to, and creation of, digital global library 11 resources that are beyond the capacity of 12 any single eligible entity receiving a grant 13 under this section or any single institution 14 of higher education, including the profes- 15 sional development of library staff. 16 ‘‘(v) Utilization of technology to cre- 17 ate open-source resources in international, 18 area, global, and foreign language studies 19 that are adaptable to multiple educational 20 settings and promote interdisciplinary 21 partnerships between technologists, cur- 22 riculum designers, international and for- 23 eign language education experts, language 24 teachers, and librarians. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:39 Jun 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2940.IH H2940 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 2940 IH ‘‘(B) Innovative curriculum, teaching, and 1 learning strategies, including the following: 2 ‘‘(i) New initiatives for collaborations 3 of disciplinary programs with foreign lan- 4 guage, area, global, and international stud- 5 ies, and education abroad programs that 6 address the internationalization of such 7 disciplinary studies with the purpose of 8 producing globally competent graduates. 9 ‘‘(ii) Innovative collaborations between 10 established centers of international and 11 foreign language education excellence and 12 underrepresented institutions and popu- 13 lations seeking to further their goals for 14 strengthening international, area, global, 15 and foreign language studies, including at 16 minority-serving institutions or community 17 colleges. 18 ‘‘(iii) Teaching and learning collabora- 19 tions among foreign language, area, global, 20 or other international studies with diaspora 21 communities, including heritage students. 22 ‘‘(iv) New approaches and methods to 23 teaching emerging global issues, cross-re- 24 gional interactions, and underrepresented 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:39 Jun 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2940.IH H2940 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 2940 IH regions or countries, such as project- and 1 team-based learning. 2 ‘‘(C) Innovative assessment and outcome 3 tools and techniques that further the purposes 4 described in subsection (a), including the fol- 5 lowing: 6 ‘‘(i) International and foreign lan- 7 guage education assessment techniques 8 that are coupled with outcome-focused 9 training modules, such as certificates or 10 badges, immersion learning, or e-portfolio 11 systems. 12 ‘‘(ii) Effective and easily accessible 13 methods of assessing professionally useful 14 levels of proficiency in foreign languages or 15 competencies in area, culture, and global 16 knowledge or other international fields in 17 programs under this title, which may in- 18 clude use of open access online and other 19 cost-effective tools for students and edu- 20 cators at all educational levels and in the 21 workplace. 22 ‘‘(f) APPLICATION.—Each eligible entity desiring a 23 grant under this section shall submit to the Secretary an 24 application at such time, in such manner, and containing 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:39 Jun 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2940.IH H2940 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 13 •HR 2940 IH such information as the Secretary shall require, includ- [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]